Learning About Diamonds With Peter Jackson

I don't own a lot of jewellery, but what I do wear are pieces that are fairly timeless and a bit unusual. I also have a couple of heirlooms that are safely stashed away (for what or when, I don't know but it's comforting to know that they are there). I've recently started to layer my jewellery and to try and get the most out of it by wearing it more, rather than saving it for a special occasion.  My current favourite collection of wrist wear is my Choose Life, Choose Love leather wrist wrap from Hope House Press teamed with my two Pandora bracelets and my new Thomas Sabo bracelet that has a uniquely engraved charm.

The Thomas Sabo bracelet is the latest addition to my wrist and it's from Peter Jackson the Jeweller. I was recently invited to an exclusive evening in their Preston store to learn about diamonds. I took my daughter, Rachel, with me so we could both have a 'grown up' night off.

To me, Peter Jackson the Jeweller has always been a name that promotes luxury jewellery in a local setting.  Their first store was opened in Preston in the early 1980s with more stores following in Blackburn, Southport, Carlisle and Bury over the years. The business is family owned and run and has a reputation as one of the leading jewellers in the North West, winning jeweller, retailer and training awards.

The Peter Jackson store in Preston | Photo credit : Jenny Higgins 

The event was held after the store closed on a Wednesday evening and Peter Jackson and team were on hand to look after us and answer any questions. We were greeted with a cheeky glass of Prosecco and then took part in various activities which cleverly took us through the process of getting diamonds into store.  

We were first taught about how diamonds are mined, learning how difficult it it is to spot a real diamond.  We then had the chance to identify different diamonds - some of which was easy because of their colouring but did you know that a ruby and a sapphire are essentially the same stone as they have the same chemical composition and mineral structure but it's the impurities in the gem that determines if it will be a (red) ruby or a (blue) sapphire! This lead us on to the diamond display where we had to guess the value of the display (I over-estimated the value and Rachel under-estimated the value).  Then we had the opportunity to have our own jewellery professionally cleaned at the "Sparkle Station".

Finally, I was able to personalise my Thomas Sabo charm (a gift for attending the event) and I chose to have my initial on one side and a skull on the other - it's now totally unique and personal to me.

This small blogger event was a lovely way to spend an evening.  We were also treated to luxury food from Shannon Kuspira of Bite Club and had the opportunity to have a professional make-over by Sonara Parker (check these guys out on Instagram - they are really talented and gave me loads of tips about my foundation and some new inspiration for lipstick colours). Official photography was done by Jenny Higgins. I also met the Manager of my local Blackburn store, Sharon Bibby. It's exciting times for this branch as they are moving from their original base, where they have been for 30 years, into new premises in The Mall very soon. I can't wait to see what the new store looks like! 

Thank you to the whole Peter Jackson team - those front of house and those behind the scenes too - for a wonderful evening and for my bracelet which is a beautiful reminder of this event.

If you are looking to buy anything from the Peter Jackson website you can use my unique discount code for 15% off any purchase (except clearance items) which will come in really handy as we hurtle towards Christmas!!   Quote voucher code OHARA18 at the checkout.